


Love Beneath the Waves

by Faithxoxo



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: A little bit of fluff, But He's Cool With It, Descendants Under the Sea, F/M, Gil hardcore third-wheels, Harry loves Uma okay, Literally nothing will change my mind, Multi, Nah I gotta make it my way, Ps Harry and Uma are relationship goals, Set after cotillion, The crew is the best, What even was that under the sea clip, or a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 22:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16292591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faithxoxo/pseuds/Faithxoxo
Summary: Uma knows how to pick her battles. Fighting Mal on the yacht was inevitable, but fighting her scaly dragon self? That was not part of the plan.Neither was possessing a kid, but, when life gives you rotten lemons, squirt them in someone’s eyes. Mal better watch out, they all should.There’s a war coming, and Uma’s as relentless as the waves that crash into the shore. She’s an unstoppable force.She’s done with letting others control her.





	Love Beneath the Waves

**Author's Note:**

> BEFORE ANYONE THROWS PITCHFORKS AT ME, YES I KNOW I HAVE ANOTHER STORY I SHOULD BE UPDATING. BUT. I HAD TO POST THIS. OKAY. IT'S BEEN EATING AT ME SINCE I SAW THAT EXTREMELY UNDERWHELMING UNDER THE SEA CLIP. DON'T WORRY, I'LL BE UPDATING 'THE LINE BETWEEN' SOON, BUT PLEASE ENJOY THIS IN THE MEANTIME.  
> Sorry for writing in all-caps, I'm just super salty about that whole-ass clip but it's fine, because I wrote this out of spite! So, at least something came out of it. I'm posting this super fucking late--or early, I guess--because I can't sleep and nothing's working so I was like might as well write, y'know? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this really long one-shot, it wasn't supposed to be this long but once I start writing Huma I just can't stop. Also, warning to Mal lovers! I feel like I say this too much lol. There is a teensy bit of Mal bashing in this story, I'm sorry, I'm working on that but self-improvement takes time and I wrote this at like two am so my state of mind was not the best. FORGIVE ME. AND ABOVE ALL,, ENJOY!!! Happy reading folks, love you all so much xoxo <3

 

* * *

Uma gives the ring back, because she realizes somewhere under the layers of bitterness and resentment that have been festering for years, that none of her anger is at Ben.

He didn’t create the Isle, his father did. He didn’t leave them all there while he was living it up in paradise, Mal and the others did that. He sounded so honest when he said he wanted to come up with a solution, when he said he wanted _her_ to be a part of it.

It’s not his fault he’s in love with an evil brat who doesn’t deserve his seemingly endless kindness.

It’s not his fault.

So, she gives back the ring, and she disappears beneath the waves.

She gives back the spell book only because she has no use for it anymore, her full magic’s been unlocked; she has all the power of the seas at her finger tips now. Let Mal have her mother’s pathetic book.

She has a crew to save, and for the first time since she swore they’d sail out to freedom one day, she finally has the power to make good on her vow.

Her first thought is of Harry, she’s only been away from him for a few hours, but she already misses him. Has been worrying about him since she left that note in a bottle for him to find explaining what she was planning to do. It hadn’t gone the way she wanted it to, but at least she’s not trapped behind that barrier anymore.

The clean air makes her feel dizzy with excitement. The sky is not grey and clouded, but midnight blue and filled with stars. Uma’s never seen stars before. She thinks Harry and Gil would like the view.

She slips through a crack at the base of the barrier, where the magic meets the ocean floor. She shrinks down to mermaid size and gets through without even a shock or zap of pain. When she finally comes up for air, she’s smiling so wide her cheeks hurt. She can’t remember ever smiling like this or feeling this giddy.

She lets her internal compass lead her to the Lost Revenge, she swims in lazy circles and tries to memorize the buzz of magic in her veins. The barrier is blocking the effects now, but the high is still wearing off. Her tentacles transform back into legs, but the sensation of it is ingrained in her nerves and bones. She feels more like herself than she’s ever felt in her life.

Her eyes find Harry first, because they always seem to gravitate towards him. Maybe it’s coincidence, or fate, or whatever’s in those Auradon history books that gets people to believe in true love, but she and Harry have always been two magnetic forces drawn together. She sees him and registers the warmth rapidly filling her chest, knows the two are related.

He’s always made her feel like herself, even without her magic.

She pulls herself onto land, drags her legs up the dock and tries not to trip on the long train of her soaking wet gown. Gil spies her first, he has the best vantage point from the crow’s nest. He yells to someone below on the deck, it has to be Harry because she doesn’t see anyone else on the ship. It’s late enough that the rest of the crew probably went to sleep or are sharing a bottle of rum down in the crew’s quarters.

When Harry’s eyes meet hers, she can’t think of anyone else but him. He’s all she sees.

He charges her, has her wrapped tightly in his arms and is spinning her around before she realizes her feet are off the ground. For the first time, she lets him hold her without feeling guilty. For the first time, she holds him back tighter.

“Never again.” She doesn’t have to ask what he’s referring to, she already knows. His voice is shaking in a way he usually never lets her hear, “You don’t go anywhere I can’t follow you. Never again.”

The words make her forget herself. Maybe the magic high’s still wearing off, maybe she’s feeling bold after tasting freedom for the first time, maybe it’s the fact that the stars in Harry’s eyes are just as bright as the ones she saw in the sky. Maybe it’s everything combined.

She kisses him. Her face is buried in the crook of his neck, she pulls back a little, enough that he makes a noise of protest, and presses her lips to his before she can talk herself out of it.

He hesitates for a total of two milliseconds, and then he’s kissing her back.

She hears faint shouting, and realizes Gil is cheering and clapping from the crow’s nest. His tone is ecstatic, “Finally! About time!”

 _Yes_ , Uma thinks, and drags Harry in closer. _I’ve made him wait long enough. I’m tired of waiting._

She admits it to herself later that night, when they’re tangled in bed together and she’s tracing soft circles into his jaw, that Harry’s watched her back for as long as she can remember.

She sings to him in the early hours of the next morning, when he’s dazed and still blinking sleep out of his eyes. She pets his hair and kisses his forehead and lets herself do all the things she’s only ever imagined doing.

_“Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can’t help falling in love with you.”_

…

The next few days are spent packing all of their belongings, putting their whole lives and crappy childhoods into cardboard boxes. Uma can stretch the holes in the barrier, but she can’t make them big enough to fit the Lost Revenge through.

They decide to leave the ship at the docks, it’s the only thing that proves they were ever there at all. That the Isle was their home once. Their houses are gone, the Chip Shoppe has a closed sign hanging on the door; the ship is their last reminder.

Uma runs a hand over the captain’s wheel and thanks the ship for being their safe haven. The only place she really felt like she belonged.

Harry holds her hand as they board up the gang plank, he brushes a kiss over her knuckles when it’s time for her to swim out ahead of them. They built a large raft out of driftwood and loose floorboards from the Lost Revenge. It’s sturdy, it floats, and it’s the crew’s ticket through the barrier. Uma just has to make a hole big enough for them, she knows it’ll hurt, but she shoulders the responsibility like the captain she is and doesn’t tell Harry.

“See you in a bit,” She tells Harry as she’s preparing to dive.

He cups her face in both of his hands, “I’ll be counting the seconds until you’re back in my arms.”

She gives him her captain’s hat, “I don’t want it to get wet,” She says, and they both know it’s an excuse. “Hold onto it for me. I’ll have to come back for it.”

She adds, just before she jumps in, “I’ll always come back.”

“For your hat?” He asks teasingly. She knows he’s teasing, but she shoots him a meaningful look over her shoulder anyway.

“For you,” She says, and dives in. She swims past the raft and to the checkpoint, a section where the barrier is at its weakest, and slips through.

The change is instantaneous. The magic rushes her, a fire in her veins, and it doesn’t take much power at all to tear the hole wider. The pain can’t touch her, she feels truly strong; a strength no one can take away from her.

The raft sails through a moment later, and she lets the spell drop. There’s cheering and hollering from the entire crew, and Uma feels accomplished and proud in a way she thought she’d never experience. She feels reborn, except in this life she’s who she’s meant to be.

Harry pulls her onto the raft without warning, she barely manages to transform back to her legs before he’s scooping her up and kissing her senseless. The crew grows wilder, they throw their hats and bow their heads, they pretend to toast to their captain and first-mate’s happiness. They show their support in the only way they know.

Gil kisses her on the cheek, much later, after everyone’s exhausted themselves and made makeshift beds out of ratty blankets and worn pillows. The bumpy floor of the raft has become a water bed where the whole crew squishes together, comfortable in a cramped and tiny space, at ease next to one another. At the mercy of the waves, at her mercy.

There’s an emotion swelling inside her, making her heart beat faster. She doesn’t want to call it love, so she calls it pride instead. Honor at having found such an amazing family for herself. They are small and broken and weary, but they are all they have.

She knows, beneath the denial and fear, that it is love. Love in its purest form. She knows why it’s so powerful, now. She knows she would kill for these people, knows they would do the same for her.

She falls asleep with her head on Harry’s chest. She hears a voice in her head before her eyes fall closed, the dark blue of the sky reminding her of someone.

_“True love, works every time.”_

She pushes the memory out of her mind, focuses on Harry’s breath tickling her forehead. She presses her lips to the warm skin of his neck.

The words are foreign and terrifying on her tongue, but she wouldn’t take them back for all the power in Auradon, “I love you.”

She’s half asleep when she hears, “I have loved you since the day we met.”

…

They get to Auradon and make camp that first night in a woodsy clearing near the shore. Uma swims out to the mainland and steals supplies from cargo ships, she empties the shipments and leaves the crates floating overboard in the water for the crew to find.

Harry waits up for her, every time. He greets her with a warm smile and a passionate kiss.

They move on after they’ve gathered enough supplies and the raft’s been disassembled and transformed into a carriage they can carry their belongings in. Jonas and Gil take shifts pulling it. Sometimes Gonzo takes a turn when the both of them are too tired.

Harry volunteers to pull it once, but that puts him at the back of the group instead of up front with Uma, and maybe it’s unhealthy that even that little bit of distance is too much for them, but he doesn’t volunteer again.

She takes every opportunity to hold his hand, she tells herself she’s making up for all those years of lost time, but the truth is she’s as possessive of him as he is of her.

Codependency isn’t healthy, but neither is starvation and abuse and lack of medical supplies. Their entire lives leading up to this point have been the epitome of unhealthy.

Uma just wants to be near Harry always, compared to everything else she’s endured, it’s the healthiest thing she’s ever had.

They spend a little over a week walking through the woods and making camp when they can, eventually they find a small uninhabited cabin that looks like it was a coastguard outpost once upon a time.

There are three rooms, a tiny bathroom and a boiler room that Jonas fixes up so that they can have heating and running water. Cook, Bonnie and Desiree take up the room that has a kitchenette. Even in an unfamiliar place, Cook needs to be near a kitchen.

Gil, Gonzo and Jonas take the other room, which could have been the living room when the outpost was still in use, because there’s an old couch covered in a fine layer of dust that the three boys wrestle over. Gil wins.

Harry and Uma take the last room, it’s completely bare of furniture besides a lumpy mattress and a chest they put their stuff in. Harry has to sit on it in order to close it properly. It’s overflowing with clothes he brought because he refuses to wear the same outfit every day.

The mattress is barely big enough for Harry to lie down on, but Uma squeezes so close to him she can feel his ribs when he breathes, and they manage to fit the both of them on it.

Hearing him breathe behind her is actually soothing. It helps bring her back to reality when she wakes up from nightmares that refuse to let her go. Harry has more nightmares than she does now, before, they used to have about the same.

Every night they fall asleep, she wakes up to thrashing and screaming, and she holds him so tight their bones meet. She hates the Isle for making them into this, has to remind herself more than once that they’re not on the Isle anymore. They can be whoever they want now.

One day, as she’s making a trip to the mainland for more supplies, she sees a limo leave the docks instead of the usual barges. She freezes, contemplates striking the limo off the bridge and watching it sink, but decides patience is better than action in this situation.

She follows the limo instead, and it leads her to the Isle with the barrier down. She knows there’s a remote in the limo that lowers it, and she wonders if she can get her hands on it. She only has a small window of opportunity, if she wants to do this, she has to act fast.

She hopes Harry will forgive her for doing this without him.

She propels herself onto the bridge, her magic swirling like a whirlpool around her. She knocks the driver out with a simple sleep spell, and there appears to be no one else in the car, so she ransacks it and tears it apart until the leather seats are ripped and the interior is destroyed.

The remote is in a small compartment between the two front seats, and there’s only one button on it. She presses it and watches in awe as the barrier shimmers and the bridge begins to disappear.

Uma raids the jars filled with candy and brings them back with her as a surprise for her crew, making sure to leave a signed note before she leaves. She wants word to get back to prince Beastie in Auradon that she’s still around and just because she was nice to him once doesn’t mean everything’s sunshine and roses.

Revenge is still in her heart and she doesn’t forgive. Ever.

…

Harry is, as she predicted, upset that she “wreaked havoc” without him. She has to promise to bring him on her next supply run and feed him the sour gummy candy just to get him to stop sulking.

“So this flimsy remote controls the barrier?” Harry scowls, poking at it. “It’s not even impressive. Bloody disappointing if you ask me.”

“Right,” Uma laughs, running her fingers through his hair. “Like, they could’ve at least made it intimidating. Decorate it with skulls or something, it’s so mundane.”

Harry drops the remote on the floor, “Boring.”

“That’s why we call it Boradon.” Uma nips at his ear and he forgets all about her little escapade and the boring remote. He only has eyes for her, as it should be.

She’s becoming selfish with him, she realizes that. She just can’t bring herself to care, not when he says her name like it’s a prayer. Like he’s a worshipper at her alter.

“ _Uma_ ,” He whispers, over and over, like she’s a fever dream. Like she’s a benediction, and he’s drowning in her.

“ _Harry_ ,” She says, the exact same way.

…

True to her word, she brings him with her the next time she goes to the mainland. She casts a spell that allows him to breathe underwater, and swims with him on her back. He grins like a maniac the whole time.

“Enjoying yourself?” She asks him when they reach her favorite docking station to steal from.

“Very much,” He answers, kissing the back of her neck and making her squirm. “You’re beautiful.”

“I have tentacles,” She feels the need to point out.

“They’re beautiful too,” He says, like it makes no difference. “There’s nothing about you that isn’t breathtaking.”

She doesn’t know what to answer to that, but actions speak louder than words, and she lets her actions speak for her. She figures they don’t have to return right away.

Uma pushes him up against one of the wooden posts of the dock and kisses him in the dark shallow end of the water, where they’re both hidden and in plain sight. No one sees them, and even if someone did she doesn’t think she’d notice. Harry has her undivided attention.

He’s breathtaking. She doesn’t think there’s a single thing about him she doesn’t love either. She loves all of him, down to his weird obsession with his hook. She thinks she wouldn’t want him any other way.

They only pull apart when they hear footsteps on the dock above them, Uma covers Harry’s mouth so his ragged breathing doesn’t give them away.

She hears two distinct voices, talking. One sounds familiar.

“Are they sure it’s a good idea to send another limo after what happened two weeks ago?”

“The king sent one last week and nothing happened. Maybe it was a fluke.”

“Or maybe the sea witch is waiting for something.”

Uma’s breath catches, she finally recognizes the voice. It’s the man from Cotillion that introduced her, the servant. Lumiere.

“Whether or not she is still out there, the king has ordered us to continue bringing over the children on Lady Evie’s list. We have a job to do, we can’t let fear stop us.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one driving the car. I heard that the driver was asleep for days afterward, and that one of the remotes was stolen.”

“…Yes. Investigators are working on recovering it.”

“How? Do they plan on chasing the witch down?”

“They’re trying to get fingerprints off the car.”

“What use is that!? They know who did it! They just don’t know where she is!”

“Any information we can get on her is useful. The security team is working with Fairy Godmother to make a new version of the remotes, anyway.”

Uma met Harry’s eyes, they both know what that means. It means if they want to stage their coup, they need to act before the new remotes are finished and theirs becomes useless.

“When will the new remotes be distributed?”

“Sometime later this week.” Bingo. They have a timeframe, now all they need is a plan.

“Is this the last trip before then?”

“No, there’s another one scheduled in two days, the Lady Mal will be accompanying you to pick up the girl, Dizzy.”

“Why wasn’t she the first brought over?”

“She insisted on staying and finding someone suitable to take over running her mother’s salon for her.”

“Wow, that’s…unusually nice for an Isle kid.”

“According to Lady Evie, she’s one of the good ones. Now go, we’ve been talking too long and I have a royal wedding to plan.”

“I didn’t know they were married already!”

“Not yet, but soon. True love can’t wait for long.”

There’s the sound of footsteps walking away, and then the sound of a car starting. There’s a whip of magic in the air, and then the bridge is appearing, golden and glimmering. Uma takes her hand off Harry’s mouth.

“Seems we’re gonna have to move up our timetable,” Uma mutters once she knows no one’s within earshot.

“What’s our play?” Harry asks.

“Half of me wants to sink the limo leaving now, but we don’t have the rest of the crew and winging it is risky. We need a solid plan first.”

“So we wait until they fetch Dizzy? Mal will be there.”

“I know,” Uma says, and she knows she must look really maniacal right now. “I’m counting on it.”

Harry matches her maniacal look, eyes glinting mischievously. “Let the games begin.”

They steal two shipments when the dockmaster isn’t looking and call it a day, it’s enough to last them about a week if they ration it correctly. The details of a plan start forming in her head, and she needs to get her thoughts out on paper so she has something to present to her crew.

“Hold on,” She tells Harry as she’s preparing to kick off.

“Already on it,” He replies, arms wrapped snugly around her. He leans in until he’s talking into her ear, “Take me away, captain.”

“You’re so melodramatic,” She says, but her heart is soaring.

She remembers what Lumiere said, and thinks Auradonians don’t know anything about true love, not really. True love is patient. Harry waited years for her to realize she loved him back.

 _True love has limits_ , she decides, closing her eyes as the ocean pulls them under.

 _She and Harry don’t_.

…

There’s a big shouting match when they return to the cabin with the news and the supplies. Apparently, someone left the stove on and something got burned. Cook is threatening to castrate Gonzo, Desiree is brandishing a spatula dangerously. Gil is cowering behind the dusty couch.

Any other day, Uma would watch the drama unfold. But today they’ve got important shit to deal with, although Harry looks like he wants to make popcorn and pull up a chair.

“Can we at least wait and see what Desi does with the spatula?” He whines.

Uma seriously considers it, but the captain in her wins out in the end, “Afraid not.”

He flops belly-first onto the couch like a diva, making Gil startle from his hiding place. “I never get to have any fun.”

Uma pats him consolingly on the head, “Poor baby,” she says. Then, cupping her hands around her mouth, she yells. “The floor is shark infested waters!”

The reaction is instantaneous; Gil shrieks and jumps over the back of the couch, landing on an unsuspecting Harry. Bonnie hops up on the decrepit round table in the kitchen, Desiree manages to drag herself onto the counter. Jonas leaps into Gonzo’s arms, while Gonzo fakes a big over-the-top dramatic death and falls to the floor in slow-motion. Cook climbs the kitchenette like it’s a tree and hangs on tightly with both arms.

Harry lets out a grunt and shoves Gil off of him, sending him sprawling to the floor. “I hate this fucking family,” He growls.

“I’m dead!” Gil exclaims. “Harry fed me to the sharks!”

“I died so Jonas could live on and avenge me,” Gonzo proclaims.

“That’s dumb,” Desiree throws in her two cents.

“Shove it, Desi,” Jonas snaps.

“I think this table’s about to break,” Bonnie says. “If I end up on my ass no one laugh at me—”

“Gonzo, I’m not done with you yet!” Cook points a spoon at him menacingly. “Death’s not getting you out of this!”

“Safe waters,” Uma says, ending the madness. She has everyone’s attention, at least, even if she wants to smack them all for acting like idiots. “Listen up, looney bins.”

They all gather in a loose circle around her, ready to do whatever she’s about to ask of them. She was afraid of their dedication, once. Now, she takes it in stride, lets it wash over her and give her confidence. Harry lifts his head up from the couch cushion, with his eyes on her, she knows she can do anything.

She addresses them with the wickedest smile she can muster.

“Our time has come.”

…

They come up with a plan and go over it until every member of the crew can repeat each step in order. It takes them the rest of the day and the better part of the evening. They go to sleep at two in the morning.

Uma stays awake until four because she can’t sleep. Harry draws shapes into her back with his fingertip and hums old pirate songs until she dozes off. She doesn’t know if he sleeps at all, but she knows sometimes he’s just too keyed up for his mind to shut down like that. She makes sure he gets some sleep the next night.

They round up all of the weapons they have and even make new ones out of fireplace pokers and dull carving tools leftover in the cupboards under the sink. Jonas wields a makeshift crowbar like he’s ready to lop off some heads.

Uma goes over the finer points of the plan with Gil and Harry alone, while the others decorate themselves in the war paint they like to wear before battles. Uma lets them continue the tradition, as long as they don’t start flinging it at each other.

“I have to ask something from the two of you,” She says, gearing up for a difficult conversation. “Something I really wish I didn’t have to ask of you but I think it’s our best shot.”

“Whatever you need,” They both say, and Uma’s chest constricts painfully.

“I need to possess both of you,” She crosses her arms and shifts her weight from foot to foot, a nervous habit she hasn’t done in years. “I won’t have access to my magic once we cross over, and we can’t leave the barrier down or else all the villains will escape. But I think I found a work-around, except I need you to—”

“Go ahead,” Gil says, without hesitation. “I trust you. As long as you don’t walk me off a pier or something, it’s all good.”

He makes it sound so simple, like she’s asking him to fetch her an apple instead of letting her control him. She would never hurt him, she’d gladly die first, but it’s still a tall order. She doesn’t think she could do it, if their positions were reversed and they were asking it of her.

But Gil is smiling encouragingly despite her own fear, and his faith in her eases the pressure until it’s not so suffocating anymore. Her heart in her throat, she turns to Harry.

He takes off his hat, takes two steps towards her until they’re almost touching, and drops to his knees.

“You can have my body,” He says, devotion coloring every word.

Gil clears his throat, somewhat awkwardly. “Do you guys want me to leave?”

Uma doesn’t tell him to, but he scurries out the door anyway. She hears him yell from the other room, “Gonzo, guess who was hardcore third-wheeling again?”

She tilts Harry’s chin up until their noses are brushing, “Just your body?” She asks.

His bottom lip quivers, “Body, heart, soul. Whatever I have, it’s yours.”

She closes her eyes for a moment, thanks the Gods for the one good thing they’ve given her, and kisses him with everything she has.

“Me too,” She whispers, quiet enough that only he can hear her. “Me too.”

…

In the end, the plan goes off without a hitch. Uma swipes a dinghy from a small fishing port not far from the coastline, everyone is ready and waiting to board when she returns with it.

They mount their tattered flag, broken but proud, and set course for the Isle. Uma swims beside the dinghy and scopes out ahead to make sure they’re keeping pace with the limo that is up on the bridge driving above them. They scheduled this down to the last millisecond.

The barrier lifts as the limo reaches the other side, and the dinghy sails straight through only a few seconds after. The barrier comes back down once the car hits the Isle, and Uma has to readjust to the dull emptiness in her veins where magic used to flow through them. She reassures herself that Harry has the remote control in his pocket and that she won’t have to feel this way for long.

She never realized how much like a cage the Isle truly felt, now, the claustrophobia is already setting in. Uma inhales deeply and tries to slow her rapidly beating heart, but it’s hard when she’s back here, the only place she’s ever felt afraid.

She reminds herself that this time, she’s the one in control. She’s a master of her own fate, she has people looking out for her. She’s always had them, they’ll always be there.

She’s not a victim anymore. She refuses to be the victim ever again.

“Uma,” Harry’s voice comes clear across the water. “Where are you?”

She swims up until she breaks through the waves, “I’m here. I’m good. Are we ready?”

He gives her a considering look, then says, “On your word, captain.”

She raises her chin defiantly, “Let’s go.”

Once they hit shore, Jonas, Desiree and Bonnie make their way to where they saw the limo park. Their job is to knock out the driver and take possession of the car. They’ll need something to escape in that the Auradon security detail won’t question, and the limo will get them through.

Uma tells the three of them that if they see Mal to not engage, even without magic the girl is dangerous and a pain in the ass. Their instructions are to wait for her to leave the car and jump the driver when she’s not around.

Gonzo and Cook are on lookout, their job is to keep an eye on what’s going on and report back to Uma, Harry and Gil if anything’s headed their way or if they’re about to be spotted. Their entire plan relies on staying in the shadows and not being seen.

Uma raided a cargo ship delivering security equipment and stole a handful of ear-pieces specifically for that reason, also because Gonzo can’t whistle for shit and Cook doesn’t understand hand gestures or warning signals.

“We all synced up?” Uma asks into the ear-piece.

“Jonas here.”

“Desi here.”

“Bonnie here.”

“Cook here, Gonzo too, but his ear-piece got caught in his hair.”

“Harry the handsomest pirate in the land is here, at your side and ready to be of service.” Harry’s voice sounded even raspier in her ear. _It’s not a turn-on_ , she tells herself sternly.

“Uh…Gil here…and I’m…kinda weirded out.”

“No one likes a prude, Gil.” Harry snaps.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” Uma says, ducking into the entrance of the hidden tunnels she, Harry and Gil had discovered years ago when they were kids. They run the length of the Isle and connect to the streets above via the sewer grates.

There’s a tunnel that leads straight to the alley behind the Curl up and Dye, and that’s the one they take.

Dizzy’s still there when they walk through the door, a tie-dyed duffel bag hanging off her shoulder. They don’t have a lot of time, Mal could walk in at any minute. Uma feels terrible for involving Dizzy like this, she has nothing against the girl personally, but Dizzy is someone Mal and her blueberry friend trust.

It’s not personal, but Uma still feels guilty when she sneaks up behind the girl and slips her shell necklace around her neck.

True love must be making her soft, because guilt is not an emotion she’s familiar with, but lately it’s like she’s developing a sense of morality and she doesn’t know how to feel about that.

Maybe she’s becoming a better person, maybe she’s not. Either way, she swears to herself that Dizzy will be okay after this, because the girl is a shining light in the dark hopelessness of the Isle, and Uma knows she deserves better than this.

“She’ll be fine,” She says, more to herself than Harry and Gil. “It’ll be like she’s sleeping.”

“Since when did you care?” It’s not judgment in Harry’s tone, she knows he’d never judge her. It’s curiosity.

“I don’t know,” Uma shrugs. “I just can’t help but think that I used to be like her once. Young, idealistic, naïve. I don’t want this place to turn her rotten.”

“Like Mal?”

Uma laughs quietly, humorless and self-deprecating. “Like me.”

Harry squeezes her shoulder and presses a kiss to her temple when she turns into him, his heartbeat is a sound she’s come to associate with home. With happiness.

“Let’s move her.” She says, when she’s regained some of her composure.

The spell takes a few minutes to activate, sluggish because of the barrier but strong enough to sustain itself because of the amount of magic she infused her necklace with beforehand. Her mother stored Ariel’s voice in it, Uma figures it’s the same concept.

Her body feels all tingly at first, and then she feels light as air. Floating high above the grey clouds of the Isle, never stopping until she’s reached the sun. She’s as weightless as the wind that blows across the ocean, as ethereal as moonlight reflecting off of the water’s surface.

As quickly as all feeling fled, it came crashing back in, except she wasn’t in her body now. She was in Dizzy’s.

She knew when she planned it that it would feel wrong, but nothing could prepare her for how uncomfortable she’d feel. It’s like she wearing someone else’s skin, except it doesn’t fit her right and she’s stuck in a half-made state. A person, but not whole.

She wants out. Harry’s hands on her cheeks steady her, “Uma.” He inspects her face. No. Not her face, Dizzy’s face. “Talk to me.”

She only manages to do it because he’s the one asking it of her, “It’s me. I’m good to do this.”

“Alright.” There isn’t even a hint of uncertainty in his voice, and she imagines she must not sound too convincing, but he’s never doubted her before and the way he’s rubbing his hands up and down her arms soothingly says he never will.

She’s so busy memorizing every line of his face, she’s memorized them all already but it never feels like enough, that she doesn’t hear Gil move until he’s poking his head in between them. “Hey, guys, I’m _really_ sorry, but this is creeping me the heck out, so, can you two hit pause for now and continue gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes after Uma’s back in her own body. Maybe? Possibly? For me?”

Harry stares Gil dead in the face, “Gil,” He makes a vague throttling motion with his hands. “I am going to dress you as a lettuce and feed you to the snails. It will be a very slow death.”

Gil squeaks, “I don’t think that’s a thing—”

“Oh, I’ll make it a thing.”

“Kinda goes against the laws of physics—” Gil’s starting to sweat now.

Harry says grimly, “I ignore the laws of physics’ phone calls.”

“That doesn’t even make sense?”

“I have sense blocked and reported—”

“I’m going to block and report the both of you,” Uma snaps.

Harry frowns, “This is a verbal conversation.”

“I’ll find a way,” She huffs. “Getting back to the _plan_ , the two of you meet up with Bonnie, Jonas and Desi and stash my body in the limo,” Dear Gods’, that’s a sentence she never thought she’d say. “I’m going to head to the Mystic forest and try to intercept Mal. If she’s on her way here she’s probably taking the shortcut through the woods. The treeline ends at the water, I’ll try to catch her there. Hurry.”

Gil immediately nods and begins heading for the door, muttering a quiet yet cheerful “Yes captain” as he goes. She catches sight of her body cradled limply in his arms and shivers, averting her eyes quickly. Seeing herself…when she’s not actually herself is just screwing the fuck with her head.

Noticing her discomfort, Harry blows her a kiss as he follows after Gil, and she blows him one in return.

“Good luck,” He says. “Not that you’ll need it.” He winks cheekily and ducks out.

“You too,” She says, and realizes this is the first time they’ve been apart in months.

Her hand feels empty without him there to hold it. She’s really become _that_ person.

She realizes she doesn’t care.

…

She finds Mal pretty easily, given the Isle isn’t that small and she’s managed to avoid all of the other inhabitants. Mal isn’t even covering her tracks or carrying a weapon, it’s like she wants to be jumped.

“You’re so fucking sad Mal, dear Gods’,” Uma whispers to herself. “It’s almost laughable. I should laugh.” Harry would laugh, he’d probably throw rocks at her too. Uma’s not that childish, though she’s very tempted.

She’s wearing the same loud ass outfit she wore at the fight on Uma’s ship, it’s so gaudy Uma has to squint to look directly at it. Those heels aren’t practical at all for the Isle, the terrain is all dilapidated streets and rocky trails. Maybe Mal just likes to feel tall, given that she probably can’t even reach objects on high shelves.

When Mal approaches the area where Uma’s ducking in the bushes, she schools her face into an expression Dizzy would wear and calls upon all the acting lessons Harry taught her.

_“You need to be the tree, Uma. You’re a beautiful tree, a marvellous tree. No huntsman can cut you down. You’re a tree made of the finest gold—”_

_“Harry, I’m a motherfucking tree.”_

_“…Made of the finest bark—”_

Shoring up her courage, she dives out of the bush and pretends to stumble into the clearing. “Mal!” She says, panting as though she’s out of breath.

“Dizzy!” Mal pulls her into a hug, and she’s so unprepared she almost jumps back in shock because _hell no please and thank you_ , only remembering at the last second that Dizzy would hug her back.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” She exclaims, rolling her eyes into the material of Mal’s jacket.

“Sorry I couldn’t be here sooner. Evie wanted to come too but she’s stuck dealing with a shipment of sewing material that’s on back-order, so it’s just me.”

“No worries, as long as you’re here, right?” Mal pulls away and Uma’s suffering resumes, she has to stare her in the face now, without showing any disgust. It’s horrible.

“Right. C’mon, we should hurry. I left the driver by himself and the limo’s idling, we don’t wanna miss our ride.”

Uma nods and lets Mal lead her by the hand back the way she came. “Oh, who did you find to run the salon for you, by the way? Evie told me you didn’t want to come to Auradon until you got someone to cover your shifts.”

Uma racks her head for a random name. When she and Harry used to tag-team raiding the shops in the wharf rats’ territory, she remembers there was this boy Dizzy would always hang out with, Harry would probably know his name.

She finally remembers, “Shu-Yen.”

Mal glances back at her, “Ooh, Shan-Yu’s son? Evie told me you had a crush on him.”

Oh Gods’ no, she’s not doing this. She doesn’t have the mental capability, she barely just started understanding her own feelings. “I moved on, we’re just friends.”

“Really? Okay.” They keep walking.

_Harry? Yoo-hoo, Harry? Where art thou?_

_Gil, where you at?_

Triton save her, Mal is still holding her hand. Why.

_What did I do in a past life to deserve this?_

They reach the gravel path that curves away from the forest, which means they’re close to where the bridge appears when it’s activated. Uma sees a shadow slink out of the blackness of an alley and holds her breath. In her periphery, there’s a blur of dark red.

Harry appears in front of them, brandishing his sword threateningly. The relief she feels at the sight of him is overwhelming, she never thought just seeing someone’s face could do this to her. Harry is the exception to every one of her rules.

“Look who I found,” He says in a sing-song voice, with that slightly maniacal twist to his lips that she loves so much. “A pipsqueak who needs to be reminded of her place. Oh, and Dizzy.”

“Harry,” Mal says, and Uma doesn’t like the edge in her voice at all. “Congratulations, you found me. I guess I’ll have to hand your ass to you again, what a shame.”

 _Bitch_ , Uma thinks, eyes narrowing darkly. _Who the hell do you think you are?_

Then, the most obscene thing happens, Uma is offended just being a _witness_ to it. Mal cocks her hip, tilts her head, and says in a much too friendly tone. “Uma probably won’t be happy when I send you running back to her with your hook between your legs, will she?”

_Is she…did the bitch just…dragon breath say what?_

The only upside is that Harry’s reaction is priceless, she’s so proud of him. “I know it’s not good form to hit a lady, but fortunately, I don’t see one. Dizzy, step away from the overgrown lizard.”

“Dizzy, no, I’ll protect you. Stay behind me.”

“Spare me from traitors trying to play the hero,” Uma hisses, letting the act drop. “Full offence Mal, but you suck at it. I mean, if it weren’t for the ‘power of true love’s kiss’ bullshit, I would have stolen the wand and your man.”

Mal whirls around, “Dizzy, what—”

Uma lets her real voice shine through, “Surprise, princess. Miss me?”

Gil joins Harry at the mouth of the alley, blocking off Mal’s escape and boxing her in, they’re both pointing their swords at her.

“I can’t believe you,” Mal says, judgemental as always. “This is a new low, even for you. She’s a child, Uma.”

“And she’ll be fine, no harm will come to her. I’m no monster, no matter how badly you wanna make me out to be one.”

“You do that all on your own,” Mal retorts. “I beat you once and I’ll beat you again, for good this time. You’ve never won against me before.”

Uma feels her long-festering anger and resentment boil up within her, she’s ready to unleash all of it on Mal right here, right now. Except she can’t match the girl’s strength while she’s in Dizzy’s body, so she reaches up and clenches her necklace, activating the dormant spell she cast on it.

Harry distracts Mal while the spell awakens, “Newsflash, you purple hag. No one here likes you. Literally. No one.”

Mal opens her mouth to answer. The spell takes effect. Suddenly, it’s like she’s seeing from three different pairs of eyes, she’s inside three peoples’ heads. The sensation is overpowering, she feels boundless. Infinite.

Mal’s eyes have doubled in size, and for the first time since Uma’s known her, she looks truly unsettled. Not scared, but not unafraid, either.

“There’s no magic on the Isle, how did you—” She takes a half-step backwards. “How are you doing that?”

“Short answer, I’m more powerful than you are. Long answer, well, I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

She moves with Gil’s body, darting forward and bringing his sword up in a slicing motion, close enough that Mal stumbles. She moves with Harry’s body, taking advantage while the girl’s off-balance and grabbing both her arms, pulling them behind her back. She moves with Dizzy’s body, finding a non-lethal pressure point and pressing on it until Mal faints.

She releases them both in one fluid motion, the magic wearing out as quickly as she is, and passes out just as Harry yells her name.

…

When she wakes up, she’s cradled in a nest of warmth, and someone is humming. She recognizes the tune before she recognizes anything else; Drunken Sailor. Harry.

_Harry._

She bolts upright and winces as the pain hits her full-force, her bones, her muscles, her head; everything aches.

Cracking an eye open, she realizes two things.

One, she’s in a moving vehicle. And two, she’s back in her own body.

“Wakey wakey rotten eggs and expired bakey,” A soft voice tells her. A voice that is kind and soothing only with her, a voice she loves.

“Harry,” His face comes into focus and he’s quite possibly the most beautiful person she’s ever seen. She almost tells him that, but decides his ego is big enough without her stroking it.

“What happened? Where’s—”

“We’re all here,” Gil says, and Uma has to squint to see him clearly through the harsh lighting of the car.

Car. The limo.

The rest of the crew is staring at her from across the backseat, and Gil is up front driving. Uma doesn’t want to know where or how he learned, she’s just going to assume he learned.

Dizzy is sleeping in the passengers’ seat, Uma’s glad they thought to bring her with them. She deserves to get off the Isle more than anyone.

She turns her head, coming face-to-face with Harry’s chest. It’s his lap she’s curled up in, his arms bracketed around her.

A few months ago, this is the part where she’d tell him to let her go.

Now, she tells him to hold her closer. It doesn’t make her weak, it makes her lucky. She is so, so lucky to have him.

“I’m the lucky one,” Harry replies when she tells him. She’s not afraid to say what she’s feeling anymore, the truth is no longer scary to her. She knows she’s a better person because of him. They’re better people because of each other.

“Mal?” She asks, when she doesn’t spot the girl. “What did you do with her?”

The crew all share looks. She sees Gil smiling in the rear-view mirror. Harry giggles like a madman, which is a little worrisome.

“She’s in the trunk.”

A slow grin spreads over Uma’s face, “You didn’t.”

“Oh, but I did.” Harry shows all his pearly white teeth; a shark’s smile. She can’t help it, she kisses him furiously. She loves him with whatever’s left of her tiny, shriveled up blackened heart. Her heart feels too big for her chest, too heavy for her body when he kisses her back. When he looks at her. When he’s _there_.

There’s a series of _awes_ and _oohs_ from the crew, up front, Gil whistles and says “Those are my best friends! Hell yeah!”

Uma turns her head so they can see her roll her eyes at them, she wants them to know she’s rolling her eyes at them. “Y’all gotta get love lives of your own and stop living vicariously through mine.”

“What does vicariously mean?” Gil asks.

“She’s right! Bonnie, come here!” Desi says, climbing over Jonas and pulling Bonnie into a hot kiss.

“Not in front of me!” Jonas yelps, covering his eyes. “I hate you so much.”

“Suck an egg,” Desi says.

“My turn?” Cook inquires eagerly.

“What am I, chopped calamari?” Gonzo crosses his arms.

Cook side-eyes him, “If you try and lay one on me, you’re going to be.”

“I was talking to Jonas.” Gonzo says, like it’s obvious.

“Jonas isn’t here, Jonas has jumped out of car.”

“Dramatic piece of shit—”

“Guys, I love all this chaos, really great, but we’re approaching Auradon! Captain, what’s our next move?” Gil called from up front.

Everyone in the limo turns to her.

Harry whispers against her ear, “Let’s burn it all down.”

Uma wraps an arm around his waist and smirks, “You heard him. Let’s burn it down.”

The car erupts in wild laughter. Uma lets the waves rise high around them and split the ocean in half, there’s a tsunami headed for Auradon.

There’s a storm, and she’s unforgiving.

Harry kisses her cheek, and her heart melts.

She admits grudgingly to herself, she has a soft spot when it comes to him.

“I love you,” He says.

“Me too,” She gives him a peck on the nose as they hit land. She can see freedom in a way she was never able to before, and it has their name on it.

“True love,” She sighs fondly. She never thought it would apply to her, it’s the best curveball life’s thrown at her. She supposes fate can’t be that bad if it gave her Harry.

“It wins every time.”


End file.
